
Aug 2005 - Apr 2010: Ph.D, Dept. of Inorganic & Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, India
Supervisor: Prof. Akhil R. Chakravarty
Aug 2003 - May 2005: M.Sc, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG), Guwahati, India
Jul 1999 - Jul 2003: B.Sc, Midnapore College, Vidyasagar University, West Bengal, India
Medicinal Inorganic Chemistry; Metal-based Anticancer and Antimicrobial Agents; Metal-Catalyzed Bioorthogonal Chemistry in Living Cells; Site-Specific Prodrug Activation Within Living Cells
Oct 30th 2015 - Present: Assistant Professor, School of Physical Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi, India
Jul 2014 - Sep 2015: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Chemical & Biological Engineering, Princeton University, New Jersey, USA
Advisor: Prof. Robert K. Prud’homme
Nov 2012 - Jun 2014: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, USA
Advisor: Prof. Ki-Bum Lee
Oct 2010 - Sep 2012: Postdoctoral Fellow, Dept. of Chemistry, Philipps-University Marburg, Germany
Advisor: Prof. Eric Meggers
May 2010 - Sep 2010: Research Associate, Dept. of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India
Advisor: Prof. Akhil R. Chakravarty
Best Ph.D Thesis Award in Inorganic Chemistry - Prof. S. Soundararajan Medal for the Academic Year 2010 - 2011, Dept. of Inorganic and Physical Chemistry, IISc Bangalore, India
Qualified Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), Feb 2005
Awarded National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by CSIR- UGC, June 2004
(1) Photoactivatable o-Hydroxycinnamic Platforms for Bioimaging and Therapeutic Release
Ajay Gupta, Aryan Gautam, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
J. Med. Chem. 2022, 65, 5274–5287.
(2) Mitochondria-Targeted Photoactivatable Real-Time Monitoring of a Controlled Drug Delivery Platform
Neelu Singh,† Ajay Gupta,† Puja Prasad, Raj Kumar Sah, Arvind Singh, Sunil Kumar, Shailja Singh, Shalini Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
J. Med. Chem. 2021, 64, 17813–17823.
(3) Iridium-Triggered Allylcarbamate Uncaging in Living Cells
Neelu Singh,† Ajay Gupta,† Puja Prasad, Pritam Mahawar, Shalini Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Inorg. Chem. 2021, 60, 12644−12650. (Selected for Featured Article and ACS Editor’s Choice)
(4) Aggregation-Induced Emission Active Metal Complexes: A Promising Strategy to Tackle Bacterial Infections
Puja Prasad, Ajay Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Chem. Commun. 2021, 57, 174−186. (Selected for Feature Article and the Journal Cover Page)
(5) Simultaneous Ultrasensitive Detection and Elimination of Drug-Resistant Bacteria by Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes
Ajay Gupta,† Puja Prasad,† Shalini Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 35967−35976.
(6) Photo-triggerable Hydrogel-Nanoparticle Hybrid Scaffolds for Remotely Controlled Drug Delivery
Shreyas Shah,† Pijus K. Sasmal,† and Ki-Bum Lee
J. Mater. Chem. B 2014, 2, 7685−7693.
(7) Metal Complex Catalysis in Living Biological Systems
Pijus K. Sasmal, Craig N. Streu, and Eric Meggers
Chem. Commun. 2013, 49, 1581−1587.
(8) Light-Triggered Ruthenium-Catalyzed Allylcarbamate Cleavage in Biological Environments
Pijus K. Sasmal, Susana Carregal-Romero, Wolfgang J. Parak, and Eric Meggers
Organometallics 2012, 31, 5968−5970.
(9) Catalytic Azide Reduction in Biological Environments
Pijus K. Sasmal, Susana Carregal-Romero, Craig N. Streu, Zhijie Lin, Kazuhiko Namikawa, Samantha L. Elliott, Reinhard W. Köster, Wolfgang J. Parak, and Eric Meggers
ChemBioChem 2012, 13, 1116−1120.
(10) Oxovanadium(IV)-based near-IR PDT agents: design to biological evaluation
Pijus K. Sasmal, Sounik Saha, Ritankar Majumdar, Rajan R. Dighe, and Akhil R. Chakravarty
Chem. Commun. 2009, 1703−1705.
(1) Photoactivatable o-Hydroxycinnamic Platforms for Bioimaging and Therapeutic Release
Ajay Gupta, Aryan Gautam, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
J. Med. Chem. 2022, 65, 5274–5287.
(2) Mitochondria-Targeted Photoactivatable Real-Time Monitoring of a Controlled Drug Delivery Platform
Neelu Singh,† Ajay Gupta,† Puja Prasad, Raj Kumar Sah, Arvind Singh, Sunil Kumar, Shailja Singh, Shalini Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
J. Med. Chem. 2021, 64, 17813–17823.
(3) Iridium-Triggered Allylcarbamate Uncaging in Living Cells
Neelu Singh,† Ajay Gupta,† Puja Prasad, Pritam Mahawar, Shalini Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Inorg. Chem. 2021, 60, 12644−12650. (Selected for Featured Article and ACS Editor’s Choice)
(4) Aggregation-Induced Emission Active Metal Complexes: A Promising Strategy to Tackle Bacterial Infections
Puja Prasad, Ajay Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
Chem. Commun. 2021, 57, 174−186. (Selected for Feature Article and the Journal Cover Page)
(5) Simultaneous Ultrasensitive Detection and Elimination of Drug-Resistant Bacteria by Cyclometalated Iridium(III) Complexes
Ajay Gupta,† Puja Prasad,† Shalini Gupta, and Pijus K. Sasmal*
ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2020, 12, 35967−35976.
(1) A Multi-Targeted Iridium(III)-Platinum(IV) Conjugates as Potent Anticancer Prodrugs to Overcome Drug Resistant Cancer
Indian Patent Application No. 202011027461 and filed on June 29, 2020.
(2) Mitochondria-Targeted Photoactivatable Drug Delivery Platform: A Strategy for Real-Time Monitoring of Controlled Drug Release
Indian Patent Application No. 202111015826 and filed on Apr 03, 2021.